One of Fortune's '40 Under 40'

Dennis Crowley is the co-founder of Foursquare, the popular mobile app. Foursquare is an application that allows users to explore the world around them by mixing location-based social networking, check-ins, and gaming. It has approximately 20 million participants.

Prior to this, Dennis created Dodgeball, one of the earliest social networking services for mobile phones, which was acquired by Google in 2005.

He was selected for Fortune's '40 Under 40' for two consecutive years starting in 2010, and was also named to Vanity Fair's 'New Establishment List' in 2011.

Furthermore, he won the 'Fast Money' round, the most challenging segment of the show, on the American ABC quiz show 'Family Feud' in 2009.

He currently also serves as an adjunct professor at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).

What's the next social networking revolution?

Matthew (hereinafter, M)I often find it very difficult to maintain both inspiration and motivation. Where do your inspiration and motivation come from?

Dennis (hereinafter, D)The city of New York always inspires me! Even just taking a walk, or trying something new, allows me to notice things I hadn't before. I love taking long walks across different neighborhoods in New York, stopping at art galleries, shops, and restaurants along the way. Experiencing new things—discovering the undiscovered, and entering galleries and restaurants. The energy of New York also recharges my motivation.

MWhat do you think the next social networking revolution will be?

DMobile, of course. Specifically, I believe it will involve mobile devices that are conscious of the concepts of 'environment' and 'history.' For instance, Foursquare began by connecting existing services like Twitter and Facebook, sensing the environment to ask, 'Have you been to this neighborhood before?' or 'Have you been with these people?' and guiding users toward appropriate actions like, 'Your friends are at the nearby cafe, shall we call them?' It will become even more remarkable in the future.

MWhat project are you most excited about and looking forward to right now?

DFoursquare's recommendation feature. With data from 20 million users and over 2 billion check-ins, we are creating a recommendation feature based on the real world. The technology and the team behind this project are truly remarkable!

MYou are interviewed frequently. Are there any questions you wish you were asked?

DNo one ever asks me, 'What is the most rewarding part of your work?' (laughs). The answer is when I see someone at the next table in a restaurant, or someone in line next to me, using Foursquare on their phone. I worked incredibly hard to create this app, so seeing people actually use it feels incredibly rewarding.

Reference links |
New York Times (English)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/nyregion/on-sundays-foursquare-co-founder-goes-online-then-out-for-a-walk.html
http://engineering.foursquare.com/2012/03/23/machine-learning-with-large-networks-of-people-and-places/